In the last couple of decades, women leaders in the workforce have been on the rise. In the male-dominated STEM fields, particularly at higher ranks, women need to mentor and manage students, postdocs and technical experts, while frequently interacting with collaborators and fellow scientists in the institution. Due to differences in the innate abilities of men and women, leading a group of men can prove to be a challenging task for a woman.

The popular paradigm “Men are from Mars, women are from Venus”, implies that men and women are entirely two different species and are psychologically different. Many of us might disagree with this idea and argue that men and women are fundamentally similar, with perceived differences in innate abilities being attributed to mere societal influence (caveman theory of evolution) or certainhormonal differences [1]between men and women. Nonetheless, I’m sure we can all agree that the interaction between different personalities lead to friction followed by frustrations, which ultimately results in low productivity at work. So, how can women be successful in leading men? How can women gain respect of their male team members?

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